1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bullet traps, and more particularly to a bullet trap entertainment system which calculates the velocity and total number of bullets shot into the bullet trap portion of the system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bullet traps are commonly used at shooting ranges, sportsman's clubs and gun clubs to de-energize potentially dangerous bullets and reduce the number of stray bullets. Bullet traps have additionally been utilized to funnel spent bullets onto a scale for measurement and easy disposal.
A number of devices have been developed to trap bullets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,291 discloses a device having three reflective plates and a bottom surface for trapping high velocity bullets. This device also includes a tray for collecting the trapped bullets therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,920 discloses a device which includes a target chamber in front of a trap box or curtain of bullet proof material. The target is displayed on a screen and a tape recorder is utilized to save shot patterns after a number of bullets have been shot into the target.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,722 discloses a shooting target intended for use with electrically conductive projectiles. This shooting target includes at least two electrically conductive sheets which are connected to a scoring device. The scoring device will record hits as values which depend upon the location of the hit on the target area.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,843 teaches an electrical target device with impact-deforming electrodes. In particular, electrically conductive bullets cause the electrodes in the target to momentarily connect. An indicating circuit provides a visual signal to indicate the specific portion of the target that has been struck by a bullet.
Soviet Union Patent No. 620,800 teaches a target having a plurality of separate target areas wherein a bullet entering one area will be routed to a first section for collection and a bullet entering a second section will be routed to a second section for collection.
However, none of these devices provide a clock for either determining the length of time required to shoot a preselected number of bullets into the bullet trap or establishing a time reference for comparing the number of bullets shot into the bullet trap by different users within a specified time period. Further, none of these devices provide for calculating bullet velocity. The calculation of bullet velocity can be utilized to determine gun and bullet performance as well as provide an additional parameter of scoring between shooters.
It is an object of the invention to provide a bullet trap entertainment system which will receive and de-energize bullets. It is a further object of the invention to provide a bullet trap entertainment system which calculates a score based upon the shooter's speed and accuracy and bullet weight and speed. It is an additional object of the invention to provide a bullet trap entertainment system which will measure the velocity of each bullet entering the bullet trap portion of the bullet trap entertainment system.